I guess if you have enough of em and you have the right paper, and you use them often enough to learn how they work, then they are worth it.

personaly I found them very difficult to use because of how long it takes to dry while working but I was not using the bets paper so this probably made all the diff...well that and I suck at using colours!

gonna just come out and say itI'm pretty damn good with Copicsbeen using em for about 4 years, and there is a hell of a learning curve to use em too

Where i live, we have the double sided ones, and they go for like 6$ EACH!this person on DA is a pro with em http://toosan.deviantart.com/gallery/ok, if you wanna go down the road of COPIC use, than here are the things to know BEFORE you buy em and potentially screw em up

1---> do NOT use normal pencils with this things, they kinda act like sponges and will soak up that graphite, then your out 3$

2---> use a color pencil for your sketch work (like the pro's kinda) go with sky-blue, something light

4---> freaking let the ink dry on pens and PRETEND to be in grammar school again, color IN THE LINES, these pens are ALCOHOL base and will soak up that ink and ruin the nub

5---> "OMG what if i accidentally get some on the nub?" use a scrap piece and color until it comes outta the nub, then your good to go again

6---> you DON'T need every FLIPPING color there is...these are PRICY because of what they can do, they BLEND, really really really wellMy main set i use a ton E02 E00<---(main skin colors) B11 B24<---(basic blues) C3 C5 C7<---(greys great for shadowing) B34 <---(hella dark blue) you'll find out eventually that you can make your own colors by blending certain onesand by doing MULTIPLE passes, you can make your color DARKER

7---> all in all, i sell a ton of Original pieces using copics, i can charge way more because it's a one of a kind, and I use 11x14 so it looks good in a custom frame when I'm done

Honestly, I would probably recommend against using them unless you're really certain you are going to like them and use them regularly. They're a little cheaper on amazon, from a brief search, but you're paying for the name more than anything else.

If you really want to give them a try to see what you think about investing in more, try picking up a light, mid, and maybe a dark grey. Just try various things with them and see if you like the way they layer, interact with different media types, and if they're giving you the types of results you are wanting. You'll get a better mileage out of using greys until you decide whether or not you want more.

From what I understand, Copics are one of the higher tier markers you can get for illustration. Unless you've had plenty of practice using markers and blending, ask yourself if you really need the name brand.

People who make a living off their art I can see getting more expensive markers for the best quality finish. They've also put the time in to make sure they can use the tools well. For someone like me, they'd be far too expensive.

depends...I can get 2 complete pages colored about with 1 marker give or takebut remember we are talking 11x14 paperalso, you can remove the nib and pour more fluid into themthey do sell refill kits, so its good to have those if you have 4 or 5 colors that you use way more than others

Copic Markers aka the Royal Royce of Markers: I was split on getting the Ciao or the Sketch version. I decided to go with the Sketch because there are more colours available. For these brand of markers you may as well and go all out and get the best. Plus with the Ciao feels a ordinary sharpie marker.

I ended up getting 5 Copic Sketch Markers to try them out to see if it worth buying more in the future.

Letraset Pro Markers: I was very surprised how well these markers blend colours together. The marker ink is good as a Copic Marker. Another advantage Letraset has over the Copic Markers is the lower pricing - Letraset is half the price of the Copic Marker. I ended up getting the Manga Starter pack with 10 markers for under $30. If money is an issue Letraset Pro Markers are a very good cheap alternative to Copic markers.

The downside with these markers is the label is nothing more than a paper wrapping - I can see this easily come off. The marker tips are not colour coded like Copic Markers so its hard to tell the colour of the marker when placed in a pile. The barrel also feels like a oversize crayon.

Chartpak AD Markers: Colour blends well. The downside with this marker, it is single tip. I didn't bother buying any.

Prismacolor Premier Markers: The most disappointing of the markers I have tired out. The colours do not blend well together, instead you get streaks with each stroke. I tired out two different colours to ensure it wasn't because the marker wasn't dry out. Like the Letraset Pro Markers, the labels are made out of paper and the tips are black. Prismacolor Marker is about $1 more than a Letraset Marker. I passed on this marker.